When choosing your flex time schedule you may have seen a new option: chess. Offered by a first-year teacher at HHS, Brain Evilsizer, anyone can come into his classroom and play chess during flextime.
In an interview with the Tiger Tattler, Mr. Evilsizer said, “I have had a chess club/team at every school that I have worked at. I love the game, always have. When I was in high school I asked the office about starting one and they laughed at me. So I made it a point when I became a teacher that I would have one. I have coached chess for fifteen years at this point and my teams have qualified for the Illinois State Chess Tournament more than they haven’t.”
Over the years at HHS the chess club has been offered, but this year the club formed a team and has been competing. On Feb. 22, the team traveled to Westminster Christian Academy to compete and on March 8, they competed in the Chris Bollinger Action Tournament at Crossroads College Preparatory School.
For the first tournament at Westminster Christian Academy, the following students competed: Caden Green (12), James Wright (12), Austin Gilliam (11), Chris Banks (11), CJ Robledo, Kadyn Grove (9), Elias Deming (9), and Nicholas Lunsford (9). There, the High School Team won 1st place out of 11 teams and the Freshman Team won 1st place out of five teams present. Senior member of the team, Caden Green, won a medal in his division, winning two out of four games. Chris Banks went undefeated and won second place off of tiebreakers in his division. Kadyn Groves went undefeated and won third place off of tiebreakers in his division. James Wright went 3-1 and won fourth place in his division. CJ Robledo went 3-1 and finished ninth in his division. Austin Gilliam went 3-1 and finished eleventh in his division. Elias Demming and Nicholas Lunsford both scored wins to help the team score as well.
James Wright, in an interview with the Tiger Tattler, said: “It’s been a missed opportunity that there hasn’t been a team until my senior year and the team itself is more of a family rather than just a team. I will miss competing and not being a part of the team next year. I think everyone should at least join the club even if they don’t want to compete just because it is a great learning opportunity”
Competing at the second tournament at Crossroads College Preparatory School were: Caden Green, James Wright, Austin Gilliam, CJ Robledo, Kadyn Groves, and Asher Barlage (10). At this tournament, the team finished 5th out of 12 teams present. Austin Gilliam finished 45th out of 133 and James Wright finished 51st out of 133. All other players who attended the tournament won at least one game.
Mr. Evilsizer said, “I love being able to give students an opportunity to do something outside of traditional sports, since not everyone is able to or wants to take part in those. I have been very fortunate to have made impacts on a number of my former players. Many of them who still live in the area have offered to come and help and even set up a match where my veterans would play my new players, and that is something we are probably going to do next year before our first tournament.”
This year, the only special title or position of the club belongs to Caden Green, the team captain. Next year the team/club members will receive titles based on their playing strength. According to Mr. Evilsizer, “Playing chess and reviewing your games are two of the most important aspects of becoming a good player. There are also a number of books and videos that students can watch to learn more about openings and traps.”
“Chess is easy to learn but extremely difficult to master,” said Green. “There are so many openings, middle games, and endgames that you can see. Finally having a chess coach at Herrin has been a great help in popularizing and getting students better at one of the most enduring games in history. While I’m sad that I only got to experience chess club during my senior year, I’m so grateful for the experiences and knowledge I gained under Mr. Evilsizer’s coaching.”
The chess team does not have any more competitions for this season, but they will have their first one in October 2025, when the new school year begins. Mr. Evilsizer said, “My team are like pawns on the board. They have the potential to become whatever they want to be, all they have to do is just keep moving forward.” If you are interested in being apart of the chess team or club, be on the lookout for an advisory flex time slot or contact Mr. Evilsizer.
